Posted
by
samzenpus
on Wednesday November 25, 2015 @11:00PM
from the up-up-and-away dept.

schwit1 writes: Using its H-IIA rocket, upgraded to lower cost, Japan launched its first commercial payload today, putting Canada's Telestar 12V into geosynchronous orbit. UPI reports: "Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency said the H-IIA rocket was upgraded for the launch, permitting the satellite to stay closer to its geostationary orbit. Tokyo's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he hoped the launch would exhibit the quality of Japan's rocket engineering, and that the successful launch would result in more orders from other global corporations. Following the launch, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries vice president Naohiko Abe said the firm plans to actively promote the H-IIA for satellite launches."

Lots of US trade issues held back Japan. The US did not want other nations offering cheaper or better platforms so a few political and treaty obligations now face a lot of nations wanting to sell or expand on their own industrial base into the space market.
Missile Technology Control Regime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
"Japan's space development" and USA trade policy, "Section 301" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
India just went its own way and made sure it could design, build and launch any syste

Not just trade issues. Japan and Germany were both held back from developing independent launch capabilities as punishment for being the World War 2 aggressors. US and Russian space development were bootstrapped on top of German hardware or know-how.

This is common knowledge by the way. Way back in the 60s, Philip K Dick speculated on what might have happened if Japan and Germany had won in The Man in the High Castle, now showing, for those too lazy to read, on the nearest Amazon cinema. In the novel, the G

Trade is an issue, but it was definitely focused on nuclear nonproliferation. Given the very direct link between rockets to deliver satellites into orbit and rockets to deliver nuclear warheads, there was interest among many nations, especially as the Cold War winded down, to ensure these sorts of arms races never developed. Japan, having been on the receiving end of a nuclear weapon, had strong reasons to promote nuclear nonproliferation. At that time as well, there were hopes that with Japan signing onto